 Poster: A snowHead
|
Anyone been and got any info?
would be for first week in April . Can get flights not looked into transfer and accommodation options yet.
Looking for somewhere fairly quiet with chance of decent snow to learn to board so thought this might be a good option. And not not too pricey so prob self catering.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
|
|
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
|
Went about 5 or 6 years ago. It is a strung out resort along a lake (very beautiful). Essentially Are town is in the middle(ish) with Duved a few kilometres away at one end and Are Bjornen at the other ski busses link the areas. Ski busses ran in the evening to (cannot remember how late) so you can move between the areas relatively easily. We stayed in Tegefjall which is midway between Are town and Duved.
We did most of our skiing around the Duved area which was good for beginners but with a few red runs too. You could ski from Tegefjall to Duved and back but no other areas were linked. We also went night skiing in Are Bjornen which is a small beginners only area.
We never skied on Are Skutan which is the area from Are town as we were there in January and the cable car was shut. This was the highest part of the resort and I believe had the tougher runs (reds mainly though). If you are going late season this may be the best area for snow but will allow someone who has been in Spring to confirm that.
One word of warning about the resort, a lot of the lifts were T-bars with some really long drags, fine if you are OK on these with a board but if not you may wish to check there are sufficient chair accessed runs.
If you are self catering the main supermarket is in Are town by the railway station, really good selection and prices not that much more than UK.
Skistar seem to manage most of the accommodation in the village so worth checking their website for options / prices etc. Not sure where you are flying into, but if I remember right the shortest transfer was actually from Norway (Trondheim) though we flew into Ostersund as part of a package deal.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
Thanks for info that's great - definitely looking a better option than anywhere offered by the big TOs for that week. Would prob go diy as can get flights from Edinburgh to Trondheim via Amsterdam and there seems to be a transfer company.
@dking2001, I survived a rather rough poma at glenshee the other week (only just!) so reckon would be fine.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
Golly. Edinburgh- Amsterdam - Trondheim is a bit of a dogleg. Always interesting hearing about the Scandinavian resorts. Some pictures would be nice!
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I took the night train from Oslo to Trondheim last summer. A great trip and not expensive for two.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
|
|
@pam w, My train one goes from Malmø - gives 2 more skidays - sleep at night - get out of the train in the morning and put skis on!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
@Hyst, thanks for the links. It will probably be just two of us
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
|
Norwegian flies LGW to Trondheim direct - gets in late, mind, so you'd need to hire a car.
|
|
|
|
|
|
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
|
I flew to about 45 mins away. Great resort, love the picnic huts with microwaves so you can heat your own food 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
argh flights have gone up a fair bit since yesterday! 
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
|
Christmas 2015 we got the night train up to Åre from Stockholm. Leaves 9pm ish and arrives right in Åre 7am. We stayed in Åre Fjällby area. Dropped bags in luggage locker at reception and got in full day of skiing. We had our own 3 bunk carriage on the train, which my son thought was great fun. We thought it was great but my wife got a bit of motion sickness, so flying up this time. Cost of train was similar to flights/transfers I think. But as Hyst says, you get the two full days to ski.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
Seem to have found some ok KLM flights. Just trying to work out which part to stay in; seems to be lots of reasonable options on the skistar website
We'll probably do a few days skiing so probably don't want to be at the Duved end- thinking somewhere in the middle!
@Themasterpiece, although the train sounds nice I would probably feel dodgy too!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
|
If you are without a car and self-catering I would aim for Åre village (Åre By or Åre Fjällby) or Duved as that is where the supermarkets are. Supermarket chain is ICA. The ski bus is not frequent enough to pop down to the shops.
I've never stayed in Duved but I think the Duved/Tegelfjäll offer enough skiing. And you can jump on the ski bus and be at the Åre Kabinbana in 25 mins. Link to ski bus below. X means some Tim between the other two times.
https://www.skistar.com/en/are/about-are/ski-bus/
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
We're heading there for February half term so could provide feedback in due course. We're flying with KLM from Humberside via Amsterdam to Trondheim. Might sound like a dog leg route but it's super easy for us as we live 20 mins from Humberside. We've gone for a cabin near the lake in the main village booked through skistar site. Hiring a car in Trondheim and will have a couple of nights there at the end of the week (hotel prices in Trondheim very reasonable). I think there are quite a few drag lifts but i believe the resort has installed new chair lifts in the last couple of years. Love the scandinavians having skied Hemsedal three times. All in cost with 7 nights acc, flights, car hire, ski hire, ski pass, 2 nights hotel is a very reasonable £1,000pp. Looking forward to it!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
Late arrival should be covered in your booking details. If not just email them. I've not arrived late in Åre but have at a skistar place in Sälen. The keys were waiting for us in an envelope with a map in a postbox sort of thing at Skistar reception.
If you are booking lessons check where they go from (it does say on the details for each level of class). You don't want to book lessons in Björnen if you are staying in Duved or vice versa. A lot of lessons start at Rödkullen, which is easily got to by the VM8 lift.
Overall I agree with the sentiments that skiing in Sweden is good value. I hear people in Stockholm say it takes an hour to fly to Östersund and I can be close to the Alps in similar time. But whenever I've priced it up for school holiday periods, its half the cost or less to go for a week in Sweden.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
@Themasterpiece, all sorted re late arrival. Same arrangement as Salen. As you say, pricing for Scandinavia is very competitive when compared with Alps in school holidays.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| MCL wrote: |
@bedrock barney, will be great to hear how you get on Which part are you staying in? My overall pricing is about the same per person and that's taking into account flights that are about £270. |
We've gone for one of the Dromstuga cabins near the lake. Probably 10 to 15 minute walk to the centre which is fine for us. We'll hopefully store our skis in a locker near one of the lifts. Alternatively we can jump on the free bus nearby.
Our flights are 250pp but we got the optimum price for these by flying out on a Sunday and returning on a Monday. In effect, the lower cost of the flights has paid for a couple of nights in Trondheim.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
|
We went to Åre a couple of years ago. We actually stayed in Östersund (Scandic Syd Hotel) and drove up daily. We did some XC skiing in Östersund and visited friends as well. The lifts are predominantly drags and most move considerably faster than those at Glenshee, many are also very very long. If you are learning and want to do so in Scandinavia I would suggest that you might be better looking at Ylläs (or Levi) in Lapland. The drag lifts there are slower (I don't board but have seen many learners have difficulty on drags) and you are also more likely to have better snow. They both have Gondolas to the upper slopes which run when not too windy and there are easier slopes down. I have always thought when I have been there that it would be an awesome place to learn. It's empty and the snow is great. When we were in Åre it rained and was pretty icy - that was in February. I have to also add that Åre doesn't have a huge amount of green runs in comparison to Lapland for learning.
That said Åre is really nice. In regards flights also look at Lufthansa via Frankfurt and Stockholm (we booked with expedia). We did this from Aberdeen and it was really cheap. Car hire is pretty cheap, we used Europcar via (I think) holiday autos and parking was free. For Lapland you have TO's going from Manchester or you can DIY from Edinburgh via Helsinki. Either way, enjoy! Scandinavia is just awesome.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I've looked into skiing in Finland as its on my list, but not managed to find cheap flights to Kittila or the other smaller regional airports near ski resorts in the North/North-East. I guess it's lack of competition on the route. Will get there one day...
As I learned to ski in sweden I hadn't realised the fear of drag lifts (anchor lifts, t-bar, they seem to go under many names) until I was on this forum! Yes, they were a pain while learning, especially with another learner where me and my brother were tensed up the whole way terrified about overlapping skis and each complaining that the other was skiing into them. Exhausting. And with a small child so the bar is behind your knees. Agony. But now me and my son enjoy the rides up. One minute he's next to me, next minute he's hanging on it. But I guess that's boys who can't stay still for a minute. Also generally lift queues are short in Sweden so it's mostly ok to go alone.
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
@suzysparkle, just checked prices from Aberdeen- much cheaper so may well be worth the drive up 😊
Re pomas- it's not the speed that is the problem but the joltiness of the take offs of some of the Scottish ones! Always found drags abroad much smoother
|
|
|
|
|
|
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
|
|
We are travelling LHR to Ostersund in march. We booked direct with SAS £260 each return with one stop at Stockholm.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I don't mind drag lifts other than your legs don't get much of a break. There was a couple of pretty violent T-bars in Åre and some of them went on forever. There was one that had this crazy steep icy bit and we saw so many people fall off there. I much prefer them when they are faster but I was just thinking that for learning it might not be so great. It's mainly boarders that I see having problems. I didn't see any queues in Åre at all, or Lapland for that matter. The flights we did were Lufthansa from Aberdeen to Frankfurt and SAS from Frankfurt to Stockholm and Stockholm to Östersund. We booked with Expedia and the bonus was we got the Lufthansa baggage allowance on all flights which meant for free we each got a ski bag, hold bag, boot bag and cabin bag!! I'm not convinced they still give you free ski carriage now.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
|
@suzysparkle, The real fun occurs when a skistar instructor rushes forward at the last second and sort of asks you to take responsibility to look after a 5 year old while at the same time making it impossible for you to say no by lining him/her up ready to get on the t bar. Quite a scary responsibility.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
|
@suzysparkle, can you remember which T-bars are the violent ones? One of my kids who is nearly 13 is a little T-barophobic. Time she grew out of it, mind.....
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
|
@dobby, just ask the lifties to slow the t-bar for "takeoff", I usually bribe them with a twix or similar on the first lift up on the morning then they remember me all day, the Swedes are generally much more accommodating of kids/beginners than some other nations. The only one I routinely find a bit problematic is the one right next to the snow park. Its balled Brakke or something, we refer to it as brakeneck.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
@lilywhite, thanks. The lifties in Hemsedal were nice to daughter last year - they slowed the T-bar right down for her. Will look out for the Brakke lift. Every resort has to have one or two, erm, eccentric lifts. The ball breaker up to Homme de Pierre in Risoul being one of my (least) favourites.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
|
| thecramps wrote: |
| @suzysparkle, The real fun occurs when a skistar instructor rushes forward at the last second and sort of asks you to take responsibility to look after a 5 year old while at the same time making it impossible for you to say no by lining him/her up ready to get on the t bar. Quite a scary responsibility. |
Funny you should say that - I saw a lot of this happening!!
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
| dobby wrote: |
| @suzysparkle, can you remember which T-bars are the violent ones? One of my kids who is nearly 13 is a little T-barophobic. Time she grew out of it, mind..... |
Oh lordy, no I can't - sorry. It was a few years ago. There was one with a very steep section at the bottom which launched you quite hard and I do recall that it was a very isolated run. What made it worse was that people had clearly been zig-zagging on it and it was solid ice with ruts all the way up. We got completely lost and I had to side slip down part of the run as it was way too steep for my ability at the time - especially as it was icy. The one with the steep section near the top I seem to remember was one of the longest T-bar they have but to be fair it was probably just the conditions at the time. It was particularly icy - raining at the bottom and very windy. None of them launched me clean off the ground like one of the Poma's at the Lecht once did - I stayed on though!!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
As the Skistar accommodation didn't fit our change over dates we have used a bunch called Ago Mittiare (http://www.mittiare.se/) whose link I found via are360. They have loads of self-catering apartments although were booking up fast. I'd be interested in hearing from anyone who has used them before - service has been great so far during booking. 3-bedroom apartment has come to about £900 for 5 nights which between 5 adults seems pretty good value I think. However, we have decided to base ourselves in Bjornen as value seemed better and I wanted easy access to the x-country terrain so may be more in town.
For flights were got £120 return pp Heathrow-Ostersund via Stockholm with SAS which including check-in bag beats my usual Ryanair/Easyjet deal.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
| Quote: |
@MCL, Re pomas- it's not the speed that is the problem but the joltiness of the take offs of some of the Scottish ones!
|
The Faicaill poma on Cairngorm is lethal. My coccyx took 6 months to heal the abuse that thing gave.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
@Deibitto, wow, your flights are loads cheaper than ours. Who did you book with? We booked direct with SAS and best we could get was £578 in total for two with one extra bag.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Well flights booked so we're definitely going 😄 Price from Edinburgh had gone down a bit since the weekend so that was good timing. A bit of a wait at Schiphol but that will give us chance to stock up on wine 😄
Now to sort the rest. Our first ever diy ski trip 😊
@Deibitto, I remember one year the west wall poma was lifting everyone about a foot in the air, and then shooting off - at least standing in the queue was entertaining!
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
|
|
@thecramps, Also booked direct with SAS. May be that we fly out on a Thurs (arrive very late) and back on a Tues. Just checked and the same flights are now £200pp. Air Norwegian was another option - direct Gatwick to Trondheim (can also go from Manchester or Birmingham via Oslo) for £120 pp return again but problem was no checked bag and arrival too late to transfer across (and being based in Bristol, Gatwick is a pain).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
@Deibitto, we haven't done so bad afterall then really, though your ticket price is great. We booked through skistar for the apartment, but will definitely be checking Ago Mittiare next year as well, thanks for that. Will be interested in hearing how you get on.
Have a great trip.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
